Bloody Revelations
by xBandanaRosesx
Summary: Sequel to 'The Painful Reunion'. Now that Shinichi is back to normal, he and Ran decide to travel to Osaka to visit Heiji and Kazuha. After a man-to-man chat with Shinichi, Heiji feels like he is finally ready to tell Kazuha about his true feelings, but when a horrifying incident occurs, will he be too late? Heizuha and light ShinRan


_**Hi guys! This is a story about my favourite Osakan couple. This story will be a sequel to 'The Painful Reunion' that I wrote a while ago, so if you haven't read it, then go read that one first. Enjoy! Here are their ages:**_

 **Shinichi Kudo – 18**

 **Ran Mouri – 18**

 **Heiji Hattori – 18**

 **Kazuha Toyama - 18**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Case Closed/Detective Conan or any of the characters**_

* * *

 **Bloody Revelations**

* * *

The harsh light of the morning sun shone through the windows of the Kudo mansion onto a young woman's sleeping face causing her to stir awake.

'Huh?' Ran thought as she blinked several times. 'I don't remember going to sleep like this.' Ran thought as she found herself in the arms of another. She looked up and saw the snoozing figure of the young man she loves, otherwise known as Shinichi Kudo. 'Oh right. He had a case last night and I fell asleep waiting for him, so he must have come back late.' Ran remembered as her mouth curved upwards into a small smile. 'He looks so cute when he's asleep.' Ran thought as she observed his facial expression. His mouth was slightly open, in the shape of an 'o', and his hair was hanging in front of his face. Ran reached up and used her right to hand to brush his bangs away from his eyes as she gently pressed her lips to his before pulling away. She turned on her side and picked up the alarm clock by Shinichi's bed.

"8:00am. Better get up," Ran whispered, putting the alarm clock back, as she pulled off her side of the duvet and started to get out of bed until a pair of strong arms wound themselves around her waist, pulling her back into something hard. "Shinichi!" Ran exclaimed, surprised.

"Mmhm," Shinichi murmured, tightening his grip around her.

"Shinichi," Ran muttered as she tried to wrench his arms off of her, to no avail.

"Raaaaaaaan," Shinichi dragged. "Why are you up so early? We have the day off school," Shinichi complained as he turned Ran back over and buried his face in the crook of her neck, making her blush.

"Yes, but it doesn't mean I want to stay in bed all day." Ran replied as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Well I do and you know I sleep better when you're here." Shinichi responded as he pulled back to look her in the eye.

"Aww, is Shinichi still sleepy," Ran teased, in a baby voice, as she kissed him on the forehead. "That's your own fault for becoming a detective. You knew that cases can turn up at any time, so sacrificing sleep is just a small price to pay for being so obsessed with mysteries. Now, come on, you have to get up." Ran informed as she managed to get out of his grip before standing up and tugging on his arm.

"But I'm tired!" Shinichi whined, eyes closed, not willing to cooperate with Ran. Ran frowned at him before an amusing idea came to mind.

"If that's how you're going to be…" Ran trailed off.

"Huh?" Shinichi said, as he opened his eyes, only to feel the weight beneath him disappear. "Aaah!" Shinichi shouted as he found himself in the arms of his girlfriend. "What are you doing!?" Shinichi yelled.

"You weren't going to get up, so I had to make you," Ran told him as she walked out of the room and started to make her way down the stairs.

"R-Ran! P-Put me down!" Shinichi stuttered, embarrassed, flailing his arms and legs about.

"As you wish," Ran mumbled as she dropped him on the sofa. The unimpressed look on Shinichi's face made Ran burst into a fit of giggles. "You should…see your…face…" Ran managed to get out in between laughs. "Aaah!" Ran cried as her feet lost contact with the ground and she was suddenly pulled onto the sofa.

"You're gonna pay for that," Shinichi growled as he pushed her onto her back and began tickling her mercilessly.

"No! Stop! You know that I'm ticklish!" Ran begged.

"One word, Ran, that's all I need." Shinichi replied as he continued with his entertaining torture.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Ran apologised. Shinichi stopped and sat back as he smirked at her.

"Ha! I wi-" Shinichi started, but was cut off by Ran flipping him on his back.

"You win nothing, but seeing as you're up we can get ready to go." Ran responded.

"Go where?" Shinichi asked.

"To see Hattori-kun and Kazuha-chan, of course." Ran informed.

"Why?" Shinichi groaned, clearly reluctant to go.

"Well, we haven't seen them in a while, plus I just thought that they deserve to know that you're back, that's all." Ran said. "Besides, Hattori-kun is you're friend and he kept you're secret, so this is the least you can do." Ran added.

"I know, but Osaka is so far," Shinichi complained. Ran thought about how to get him to agree when a lightbulb went off in her head and she started grinning at him.

"How about this?" Ran questioned as she leaned down to whisper in his ear. "You come to Osaka and I'll make up for your lack of sleep later. Although, we won't be doing much sleeping…" Ran purred, seductively, as she gently bit down on his earlobe before pulling away.

"When are we going?" Shinichi inquired, slightly dazed, with a goofy smile on his face. Ran shook her head as she smirked at him in triumph.

"I win," Ran stated, smugly.

* * *

At a high school, somewhere in Osaka…

"You're such an idiot!" Heiji shouted.

"I'm the idiot!? You're the idiot!" Kazuha yelled.

"Oh yeah? Who was the one that wasn't looking where she was going and slammed her face into the door?" Heiji pointed out with a smirk on his face, making Kazuha's cheeks burn with embarrassment.

"Well, I would have been looking where I was going if I wasn't too distracted by the fact that some clumsy idiot tripped over and looked up my skirt!" Kazuha retorted, her blush increasing. Heiji's smirk faltered as he looked away from her and felt the heat rise to his cheeks.

"It's your fault for not wearing a longer skirt," Heiji muttered.

"My fault?!" Kazuha cried. The two of them kept arguing all the way out of school, neither one of them letting up.

"Hey, hey, can't you two go five minutes without arguing?" Someone remarked behind them.

"Huh?" Heiji and Kazuha said as they turned around to see their Eastern counterparts grinning at them.

"Kudo! You're back to normal!" Heiji exclaimed, until he realised what he just blurted out and slapped his hands over his mouth.

"It's okay. She already knows." Shinichi told him.

"Already knows what?" Kazuha asked.

"Don't worry, I'll tell you over a cup of coffee. Let's go." Ran replied as she linked her arm through Kazuha's and walked off with her, down the street.

"So, what are you guys doing here?" Heiji questioned.

"We had teacher training day today, so we thought that we'd come to Osaka and pay you guys a visit." Shinichi informed.

"Awesome! That means I can finally hang out with you as yourself for once!" Heiji cheered as he gave Shinichi a friendly hug and slapped him on the back, hard, out of excitement.

"Ow! Careful!" Shinichi shouted.

"What's up, Kudo? Did you hurt yourself?" Heiji inquired, concerned.

"Okay, first, let's go by given names and second, it's a long story." Shinichi responded.

"Alright, Shinichi. Let's head over to my house and you can tell me all about it." Heiji decided as he swung his left arm over Shinichi's shoulder and walked in the opposite direction to Ran and Kazuha.

* * *

Kazuha brought Ran to a local coffee shop, near her house, and the two sat down in a corner booth, by the window, as Ran told Kazuha the whole story about why Shinichi was gone so long.

"What?! He was Conan the whole time?!" Kazuha cried as she jumped out of her seat. She looked around and noticed that everyone was staring at her, so she gave them a sheepish smile and sat down, awkwardly.

"Yeah, he was. I was furious at first, but then he explained to me that the only reason he didn't tell me was because he was trying to protect me." Ran said.

"So, he didn't tell anyone?" Kazuha asked, incredulously.

"Well, obviously, there had to be some people who knew, like Doctor Agasa, his parents, Hattori-kun…" Ran trailed off, as she looked out the window, mumbling the last part so that Kazuha wouldn't hear her. She turned back and saw Kazuha's teeth gritted, her fists clenched and her head looking like it was about to explode.

"Heiji knew?" Kazuha growled. "That jerk! Oh, you just wait until I get my hands on you, Heiji Hattori!" Kazuha screamed as she shot of her seat and stormed towards the door, but Ran grabbed a hold of her arm and pulled her back to her seat in one fluid movement, shocking Kazuha.

"Do you always have to make such a scene?" Ran whisper-shouted. Kazuha blushed and looked down in embarrassment. Ran sighed before patting her friend on the shoulder. "Maybe he had a good reason for not telling you." Ran comforted.

"Like what?" Kazuha inquired.

"Perhaps he didn't want to see you hurt. He does care about you, you know." Ran told her.

"Yeah right," Kazuha commented, unbelievingly. Just then, the waitress brought over their drinks. Ran ordered a latte whereas Kazuha ordered an ice tea. They thanked her and she smiled at them before walking away.

"Of course he does. Remember that case at the Tottori mansion and I couldn't find you? Heiji was so worried and he looked everywhere for you, shouting your name until he found you caught up in all those webs. He was horrified at the sight because he thought that he'd lost you, but luckily you were okay and he was so relieved, not that he'd ever admit it." Ran informed.

"Really?" Kazuha queried.

"Yeah. Also, when we won a trip on that cruise ship and it turned out that Heiji was there as well, we got pulled into solving a murder case that related to a case 20 years ago…" Ran started.

"Oh yeah. What did happen? Heiji said everything was fine, but I know that's a lie." Kazuha cut in.

"Actually, he nearly ended up as one of the murder victims." Ran remembered.

"What?!" Kazuha cried.

"But, he was fine, he managed to get help from a passing boat and safely got back to the ship." Ran responded, hurriedly, putting Kazuha's mind at rest. "When we asked him about how he managed to stay alive after being pushed off the ship by the murderer, he said that because his clothes weighed him down, he had to remove all his upper clothing and leave them in the sea." Ran continued, but stopped when she saw the hurt in Kazuha's eyes. "However, he made sure that he took the charm out of his pocket first and kept it with him. He showed it to us and read the note that you put on it _'Don't forget this, idiot!'_ and then he looked at it, fondly. Secretly, he was thankful that you put the lucky charm in his pocket, but, as usual, he pretended like it was nothing." Ran finished as Kazuha breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good," Kazuha whispered as she took out her own lucky charm and smiled at it. She then looked up and noticed that Ran was looking at her with knowing eyes.

"What?" Kazuha said.

"Come on, I think we both know what I'm going to ask." Ran replied.

"Never," Kazuha sighed, sadly, playing with the straw of her drink.

"What? Why?" Ran asked.

"He doesn't see me that way. I mean, he always teases me, we get on each other's nerves, we're always fighting…" Kazuha listed until Ran started giggling.

"Why are you laughing?" Kazuha questioned, confused.

"That's just how you are. Do you often get teased at school about you two having a lover's tiff or something like that?" Ran inquired, knowingly.

"All the time," Kazuha muttered, annoyed.

"Then maybe they're onto something," Ran remarked. Kazuha looked at her with an expression of confusion mixed with annoyance, so Ran decided to elaborate.

"Shinichi and I were exactly the same. He used to tease me, he'd always get on my nerves and we were always arguing about something silly, but we made up just as quickly. I guess it's because we've been friends since childhood, so we have a close bond that allows us to accept one another despite our faults. I used to think that Shinichi would never accept my feelings, but look where we are now." Ran explained.

"Maybe you're right," Kazuha murmured.

* * *

Meanwhile, the boys were catching up back at Heiji's house while drinking a couple of beers.

"So, how's the old man?" Heiji inquired.

"As expected, his reputation as a great detective is dying down. People have just assumed that 'The Sleeping Sleuth' has had his run, but now it's over since I'm back on the scene." Shinichi answered, grinning at the last part, making Heiji chuckle. "Anyway, he's actually doing alright. He just rekindled his marriage with his ex-wife and she's decided to move back in with him, so he's cut down on the all the drinking, smoking and gambling which makes him much more pleasant to be around."

"Really? I'll have to come and see that for myself sometime." Heiji commented. "But, you said that she moved back in with _him_. Isn't Ran living there too?" Heiji pointed out.

"Well, she's been in really good spirits since her parents got back together and she really wants this to work out, so she thought that it would only be fair if she got out of their hair and moved out. So, she's living with me now." Shinichi replied.

"What!? You guys are living together!" Heiji cried, surprised. "Next thing you know, you'll be telling me that you guys are getting married," Heiji teased, nudging Shinichi with his elbow.

"Hey, hey, we're not that far yet, but it is a pretty serious relationship. After being in the body of a child for almost two years, it gave me a bit of perspective. Never take anything for granted because you won't realise how much you appreciate it until it's gone." Shinichi advised.

"Man, you're always so serious," Heiji sighed, leaning back on the sofa. "Anyway, how's the professor and Haibara, I mean, Shiho?" Heiji queried.

"They're doing alright. The professor's busy inventing things as usual and Shiho's finally back in her own body. She only changed back a few days ago because she thought it would be suspicious if we disappeared at the same time, so she waited for a week before she took the antidote and reverted back to her old self." Shinichi started.

"So, you've been yourself for over a week now and not even a phone call? That's cold…" Heiji muttered, crossing his arms.

"I was going to, but Ran wanted it to be a surprise." Shinichi told him before continuing. "Shiho grew fond of the kids and decided that she wanted to stay in Tokyo, so she's now the professor's assistant and she lives with him in his house. The kids of gotten used to her and grown to like her which seems to make her happy, but she's been acting strangely recently." Shinichi added.

"How do you mean?" Heiji questioned.

"Well, when she's around me or the professor, she's happy and cheerful, but when Ran's there she's like a whole different person. No matter how many times Ran tries to be nice to her, Shiho just throws it back in her face by disregarding her as if there's something about Ran that makes her bitter." Shinichi explained. Heiji started laughing in response causing Shinichi to look at him weirdly.

"What?" Shinichi said, confused.

"Oh man, you are so clueless about love," Heiji remarked, chuckling. Shinichi looked at him with a 'look who's talking' expression which went unnoticed by Heiji.

"Obviously, with all the time that you guys spent together, somewhere along the way she fell for you." Heiji informed.

"Okay, but that doesn't excuse her behaviour. Shiho always knew that I was going to be with Ran." Shinichi pointed out.

"True, but the heart wants what the heart wants. Maybe acting this way is how she deals with the fact that you're with Ran and not her." Heiji told him.

"I guess..." Shinichi trailed off, starting to feel bad. "I'll talk to her when I get back. Ran gets upset when she doesn't understand why people hate her, so I need to do something to get rid of the hostility." Shinichi decided.

"You really care about her, don't you?" Heiji commented.

"Of course. I love her," Shinichi stated, honestly.

"Alright, you and Ran. I want to know everything so spill." Heiji demanded.

"Sorry, but that's between me and Ran." Shinichi said.

"C'mon man, after all I did to help you out and keep your secret. This is the thanks I get?" Heiji complained.

"Right, calling me Kudo every time the girls were around? Some help you were," Shinichi muttered, but loud enough for Heiji to hear causing him to sweat drop.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Heiji replied, sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand. "Anyway, I've been waiting just as long as the next person to see how this will pan out, so you better tell me. Plus, Ran probably already told Kazuha." Heiji added.

"You know you sound like a girl, right?" Shinichi replied.

"And you know I'm going keep bugging you until you tell me. C'mon, please, please, please!" Heiji pleaded, clasping his hands together, in front of him, and getting right up in Shinichi's face.

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you," Shinichi surrendered, pushing Heiji away from him. Heiji smirked in response, knowing that would persuade him. "You see, I was so happy that day, seeing as I just changed back into my own body, that I stayed home from school just so I could prepare what I was going to say to Ran after disappearing for so long. Once the school day was over, I surprised Ran and we started running towards each other like in one of those romantic comedies, but rather then it being the long-awaited reunion that I had dreamed about, I suffered at the hand of Ran's karate skills," Shinichi admitted, embarrassed, causing Heiji to burst out laughing.

"You got beat up by a girl!? Man, you are never going to live that down!" Heiji cried, almost on the floor, laughing.

"Oh yeah, well once you've had your own first-hand experience, then we'll see who's laughing," Shinichi huffed as he crossed his arms and turned away from him. Eventually, Heiji managed to calm himself down as he sat back down on the sofa and wiped away the tears in his eyes.

"Okay, okay, sorry." Heiji apologised. "What happened next?" Heiji asked as he placed his left hand behind his head, leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes, taking a sip of his beer.

"Well, after that, I chased after her and we fought for a little while until I finally managed to convince her that I did love her and that I wasn't going to leave her again, so I held her, I kissed her and then we-" Shinichi answered, but stopped abruptly as he coughed, purposely, and turned away. Heiji noticed this and opened his eyes. When he saw Shinichi's expression and red face he spat out his drink in surprise as it suddenly clicked in his mind.

"No way! You guys did it?!" Heiji cried, incredulously. Shinichi nodded shyly in response, blushing slightly "Oh, respect man!" Heiji shouted giving Shinichi a high five. "What was it like?" Heiji queried, curious.

"It was amazing," Shinichi breathed. "I'd just told her I loved her, for the second time, and she finally confessed to me. I felt as if I was on cloud nine. Then, when we kissed, it was just magical because I'd been wanting to do that for such a long time. She was actually the one who wanted to take it to the next level, but I was kinda nervous seeing as we'd only just gotten together, so I asked her if I was sure and when she said she was, the honesty and confidence that I saw in her eyes just made my heart melt." Shinichi remembered. "I couldn't believe that she would trust me so much even after how much I had hurt her. It just made me love her even more." Shinichi commented. "Anyway, things went on from there and I think it was the sheer intensity of our feelings, plus the fact that I had been gone for so long, which increased the amount of passion between us. Just having her body pressed against mine and being able to hold her in my arms made me content with the world. Honestly, it was the best experience of my entire life." Shinichi described. "Although, we would have done it twice if it wasn't for her drunk father killing the mood," Shinichi said under his breath, annoyed, as he took a sip of his beer.

"Wow. That sounds great, man. I wish I had someone to share that kind of experience with," Heiji whispered, wistfully.

"You do, you just have to pluck up the courage to confess to her." Shinichi replied.

"What? I do not love Kazuha!" Heiji yelled, jumping up from his seat.

"Who said anything about Kazuha?" Shinichi pointed out with a smirk on his face. Heiji opened his mouth to say something, but shut it and sat down quietly. "Look, if I've learnt anything from my experience with Ran, then it's that you have to seize the day and tell her. If you don't, then by the time you're finally ready, you may be too late." Shinichi told him.

"But, what if she rejects me?" Heiji asked, worried.

"Trust me, she loves you. You'd have to be blind not to see it," Shinichi reassured as he patted his friend on the shoulder.

"Heiji?" Kazuha called.

"Here's your chance." Shinichi said as he patted his friend on the back before heading towards the door. Kazuha smiled at Shinichi, gratefully, as he walked past and she entered the room.

"I know." Kazuha told him.

"Know what?" Heiji queried.

"Why you didn't tell me about Kudo-kun. You were just trying to protect me so that I didn't get hurt." Kazuha replied. Heiji was about respond when Kazuha continued speaking. "It's really sweet, you know. I never knew you cared so much about me, Heiji," Kazuha teased with a grin on her face.

"Fool, I didn't tell you because you're such a blabber mouth and you would have given Kudo's secret away in no time flat." Heiji lied.

"Would not!" Kazuha shouted.

"Would too!" Heiji yelled.

"Would not!" Kazuha shouted, stepping towards him.

"Would too!" Heiji yelled, stepping towards her.

"Look, I know you love me, so why don't you stop acting like such a scaredy cat and tell me how you really feel, you coward!" Kazuha demanded, poking him in the chest. As much as Heiji may have want to confessed, since he was just provided with the perfect opportunity, his manly pride wouldn't let him do such a thing and instead took control of his mouth.

"Love you? I don't even like you." Heiji retorted.

"Well if you don't like me then why have we been friends all this time?" Kazuha questioned.

"Hey, I was just being nice. You were the one who decided to hang around me like some lost puppy," Heiji insulted.

"Excuse me!?" Kazuha cried, angered.

"You heard me." Heiji responded, smirking at her.

"Ugh! You're so aggravating, Heiji Hattori!" Kazuha complained. "I don't care what you say, I know the truth." Kazuha informed.

"What's that?" Heiji asked.

"That you think I'm cute, smart, kind, sweet, brave, honest, headstrong and other good things," Kazuha stated, smugly, as she smirked at him while closing her eyes and crossing her arms.

"More like ugly, dumb, stupid, whiny, idiotic, weak, irritating and a whole load of other things that would take too long to list." Heiji corrected, angering Kazuha further.

"What is wrong with you!? Why can't you just be honest with me!?" Kazuha shouted, exasperated.

"I am being honest with you!" Heiji yelled, even though deep down he knew he was lying.

"Then why you can't you tell me that you love me!?" Kazuha shouted, confused.

"Because I don't!" Heiji yelled, no longer thinking straight.

"YOU'RE A LYING, INSENSITIVE JERK!" Kazuha screeched.

"AT LEAST I'M NOT A FAT, ANNOYING BITCH!" Heiji bellowed to which he was met by a slap 'round the face. He held his left cheek and his eyes widened as he turned back to face her. The tears in her eyes brought him back to reality as he realised what he just said.

"Kazuha, I-" Heiji started but Kazuha cut him off.

"Save it! I'm so stupid. I should have known that Ran was wrong about everything. She kept telling me "Heiji loves you" and "He just doesn't want to admit it", but I know the truth now, don't I?" Kazuha replied as a few tears trickled down her face. "I can't believe I ever loved you," Kazuha murmured before she ran out of the house, crying, slamming the door behind her. Heiji wanted to go after, but thought he would only make it worse, so he stayed back.

'What the hell is wrong with me!?' Heiji scolded himself, mentally, as he turned around and banged his head against the wall.

"HEIJI HATTORI!" Someone roared. Heiji turned back around only to be knocked back down again due to the force of a full powered kick to the head. He groaned and opened his eyes, trying to get up, only to find Ran towering above him with her foot planted firmly on his chest. "What do you have to say for yourself?" Ran asked, sternly.

"Nothing…" Heiji sighed, not having any excuse for his behaviour. As Ran was about to respond, Shinichi walked back in and shook his head as he spotted his friend on the floor, taking pity on him.

"Well then, in that case, I'm going to find my friend and make sure she's alright no thanks to this idiot." Ran informed Shinichi, jabbing a thumb in Heiji's direction. Shinichi nodded and gave her kiss before she too walked out of the house and slammed the door behind her. Once Ran had gone, Shinichi turned back towards Heiji with a grin on his face.

"So, how does it feel?" Shinichi questioned, already knowing the answer.

"It hurts like hell, alright? Now, help me up." Heiji responded as he lifted up his left hand and held it towards Shinichi. Shinichi chuckled before taking his hand and pulling him up.

"Alright, so we know that you said what you said because you're a complete moron, but we also know that you didn't mean any of it, so what are you going to do about it?" Shinichi inquired.

"Find her and grovel really hard, as much as it may pain me to do so." Heiji answered.

"Good answer. I'll help you look." Shinichi offered as he and Heiji walked outside. "Okay, I'll go check the streets and local shops and you go check all the other places that you know she may go to when she's upset." Shinichi told him.

"Thanks, man. You're the best." Heiji thanked him as he patted Shinichi on the shoulder and ran off to the left.

'And now the fun begins.' Shinichi thought as he smirked at Heiji's retreating figure before running off to the right.

* * *

'Man, where could she be? I've checked all the places that she likes around here: the Osaka Castle, the Osaka Tower…" Heiji checked off in his head. 'The only place that's left is the square.' Heiji thought as he headed for the Osaka Plaza. As he was walking along, rapid footsteps could be heard coming towards him. Before he had the chance to turn around, Heiji was roughly shoved to the ground by a guy, all dressed in black, who appeared to be in quite a rush.

"Watch it!" Heiji shouted but stopped short when he noticed something in his hand. "A knife!?" Heiji whispered, worried, when he saw that there was fresh blood dripping from it. "Hey! Get back here!" Heiji yelled as he sprinted after this guy.

"AAAHHH!" Someone screamed causing Heiji to stop in his tracks at the sound of the blood-curdling voice. Heiji watched the suspicious guy turn the corner before gritting his teeth and running in the direction of the scream. He looked all around the plaza but saw no-one that could have made that sound.

'Where did that scream come from and how am I the only one who heard it?' Heiji thought as he looked around and watched all the people calmly walk by as they continued on with their normal day to day lives.

"Please! Someone help!" Someone cried, desperately. Heiji looked towards one of the side streets and realised where the voice was coming from. He ran down the street and dashed over to the source of scream only to find something that made his heart stop. Ran was on her knees, bawling over Kazuha's lifeless body. She lay there, still, in a pool of her own blood, as if all the life had been sucked out of her body. Heiji remained motionless, unable to comprehend what was happening let alone move. Just then, Shinichi raced over and pulled Ran away from the horrifying scene as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"Ran, what happened?" Shinichi asked.

"I f-found K-Kazuha sitting by the fountain in the p-plaza and after we had a heart-to-heart, we decided to walk down this street to get back to her house when all of a sudden, a c-criminal came up from behind us and g-grabbed Kazuha around the neck, taking out a p-penknife from his pocket. He told us that he was on the r-run from the p-police, but if he took a h-hostage then they would have to comply with his wishes to ensure that the hostage wouldn't get h-hurt. I managed to knock him down with my karate and pulled Kazuha out of his hold but I f-foolishly turned my b-back to him so that I could make sure Kazuha was okay and before I knew it he had me in h-his g-grip with a knife to my throat, holding me down, so that I couldn't attack him again. Kazuha ordered him to let me go, but he r-refused to and demanded that she come with him if he didn't want anything to h-happen to me. He also told her that if she t-tried something or went to get the police then he would k-kill me. She was unsure of what to do, but then she had that look in her eye that told me she was u-up to s-something. I w-warned her not to d-do it, but she didn't listen to m-me. Pretending to go along with the criminal's demands, she walked towards him slowly but then quickly used her right arm to p-pull on his arm with the knife in it and used her left arm to t-tear me away from him. Everything was going well, but she couldn't hold him off with one arm, so when she pulled me away he became a-angry and d-directed the knife towards her as he drove it through her s-stomach. Immediately, b-blood spurted out from her mouth as she s-staggered back from the attack. Wanting to finish off the job, he s-stabbed her another few times, like the cold-hearted k-killer that he was, before bolting." Ran managed to explain before bursting into hysterics. During this time, Shinichi had walked over to the body to check the pulse only to find that there wasn't one. He looked towards Heiji and shook his head at him before lowering his head in sadness and shame. This action seemed to bring Heiji back down to Earth as he charged over to Shinichi and forcefully yanked him up by the collar.

"Moron! Don't lie to me! You must have checked wrong, there has to be a pulse!" Heiji shouted, with a furious expression on his face, as he threw him to the ground and knelt down by Kazuha's body, shaking her to try and wake her up.

"I'm not lying, Heiji. I'm sor-" Shinichi started, but was cut off by Heiji.

"Shut up! I'm telling you, she's not dead! Kazuha won't die!" Harley yelled, having none of it, as he glared at him full force. However, when he turned back, the fact that she just lay there scared him beyond belief. The very notion that she may never open her eyes again made his blood run cold. "Kazuha can't die…" Heiji whispered, as a tear escaped his eye and landed on her cheek. However, his stubborn nature refused to give up on her. He furiously wiped his eyes and began to shake her again. "Kazuha! Don't you die on me! You hear me!" Heiji demanded as he reached inside her shirt and took out the lucky charm that she wears around the neck. "You see this! This is the lucky charm that you and I have been wearing since we were kids and you told me that as long as we were wearing it, nothing would happen to either us! If it works for me then it works for you too, so stop faking!" Heiji roared as he gripped the charm in his left hand, tightly, almost crushing it. Seeing as this didn't work, he tried something that he was 100% certain would do the trick. "Kazuha, you're ugly, fat, whiny, dumb, stupid, weak, irritating, annoying, a pest, an idiot, a moron…" Heiji insulted with every rude word there is under the sun. He could have sworn he saw her eyebrow twitch and smirked triumphantly. "I know you're pretending and that you're trying really hard not to react to what I'm saying but I also know that you're going to snap any second," Heiji stated, smugly, as he sat back and closed his eyes, smirking. After a few moments of silence, he opened his eyes and saw the same thing that he saw before. A still, motionless body that showed no sign of moving. "Y-you are going to snap, right?" Heiji asked, uneasily. "Kazuha, this is the only time that I going to say this, so if you are lying to me then you better stop faking and take me up on my offer." Heiji told her. "Shout at me, yell at me, hit me, anything. Just do something to show me that you're okay." Heiji proposed as he shut his eyes, tightly, and prepared for the oncoming assault. When nothing happened he looked once more at the unconscious body before reality finally set in and he broke down. "Kazuha. My sweet Kazuha," Heiji murmured as he stroked her cheek, lovingly. A small blush tinted Kazuha's cheeks, but this went unnoticed by Heiji's glassy eyes as he began to well up. "Kazuha, we have been friends ever since we were kids and the truth is, my life had no meaning until I met you. You changed my life for the better and being around you made me into a better person." Heiji admitted. "Well, as much as you could do." Heiji added, chuckling, bitterly. "I know I never told you, but I really do care about you, Kazuha. That time when you were tangled up in webs at the Tottori Mansion really scared me to death because I thought you were gone and that thought alone petrified me. Then, you had to go and make it worse back when we on the Isle of Mermaids. You tried to make me let go of you by stabbing me in the hand, but I still held on. I told you _'Even if I die, I won't let you go.'_ and I kept that promise by saving us both, but there was one promise that I couldn't keep. That same day, I made a silent promise to myself that I would never let you be hurt, but now look at you." Heiji informed, tears threatening to spill over, as he referred to the bloodied body before him. He reached inside his pocket and took out his phone which had his lucky charm attached. "You see this. This charm means a lot more to me than you may think it does. I carry this around everywhere and never leave home without it, so that I will always have a piece of you wherever I go. I'll have to keep this even closer to me now, seeing that this is the only thing of you that I have left." Heiji croaked, broken, as he let the tears fall freely from his eyes. He remembered something from earlier that day and he looked back at Shinichi with a sad smile on his face before turning back towards Kazuha. "You know, Kudo gave me some important advice today. He said _'Never take anything for granted because you won't realise how much you appreciate it until it's gone._ ' and he was right because I didn't realise how much I needed you in my life until this very moment." Heiji told her. Kudo also said _'You have to seize the day and tell her. If you don't, then by the time you're finally ready, you may be too late.'_ Looks like he was right about that too because I am too late now, aren't I?" Heiji added as he pulled her body towards him and buried his face in her hair. "I'm so sorry, Kazuha!" Heiji wailed as her hair became soaked with his tears. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was stupid and naïve to think that you would wait for me and now it seems I waited to too long!" Heiji apologised as his sobs began to subside. "I love you, Kazuha. I love you, I love you, I love you." Heiji finally confessed, tightening his grip around her. Shinichi and Ran stood behind the two of them, holding onto each other, as they watched sorrowful scene before them unfold. However, their sad smiles soon became ones of joy as they saw a smirk twitch at Kazuha's lips.

"I knew it," Kazuha whispered in Heiji's ear, shocking him to the core. He pulled back, eyes bulging, and gazed upon the smug looking face that belonged to the love of his life.

"K-K-Kazuha!" Heiji cried, shocked beyond belief.

"Gotcha." Kazuha said, smiling sweetly at him.

"But you…you were…and I just…but I thought…huh?" Heiji faltered, unable to make heads or tails of this situation.

"Sorry, but this was the only way that I could get you to confess." Kazuha replied. "I love you too, Heiji, but you were really pushing it with those insults and you have no idea how much I wanted to take you up on that offer because God knows you definitely deserv-" Kazuha ranted, but was cut off a soft pair of lips being roughly placed on her own. She blinked a few times before smiling into the kiss as she wound her arms around his neck and locked them there. Heiji placed his hands on her back and sat her up slowly, without breaking the kiss, before pulling away to lean his forehead against hers.

"Don't do that to me again," Heiji ordered, lightly, still shaken up by the emotional rollercoaster that he had just ridden on.

"Okay, I promise not to fake my death again if you promise to stop being a jerk and lay off the teasing." Kazuha compromised.

"Well, I can definitely stop being a jerk, but I'm not sure about the teasing. It's as natural to me as breathing. You should know that, idiot," Heiji teased, cracking a smile.

"What am I going to do with you?" Kazuha sighed as she played with his hair.

"I don't know, but a kiss would do." Heiji answered with a big grin on his face. Kazuha shook her head in response before placing her lips against his once again. Tightening his grip on her, he placed one hand under her knees and lifted her off the ground, as he stood up, causing her to yelp. He thought about taking things further, but something in the back of his mind reminded him that Shinichi and Ran were still standing behind them.

'Speaking of Kudo and Ran-chan.' Heiji thought as he pulled away and turned around to face his two friends while holding a dazed, blushing Kazuha bridal style.

"You two knew about this?" Heiji asked. Shinichi and Ran looked at each other before smiling and turning back towards Heiji.

"Yep, sorry about that." Shinichi apologised.

"But, what about the criminal and all the crying?" Heiji questioned, confused.

"Well, I'm quite good at acting, so just imagining that this whole situation was real helped me with all the fake tears and as for the criminal…" Ran trailed off as she directed her gaze to a grinning Shinichi.

"It was you!?" Heiji cried, shocked and slightly betrayed. "Actually, now that I think about it, that criminal did look a bit like you." Heiji commented, faintly remembering the tall, slim figure and the distinct bangs coming out from under his hat. "Then what about all the blood?" Heiji queried.

"All fake. We have a huge costume shop in Tokyo and we bought quite a few packs there." Shinichi replied.

"Alright, but now someone has to tell me all about the plan and how you guys managed to pull it off." Heiji told them.

"I can do that, but first you have to put me down." Kazuha said as Heiji set her back on her feet. "Okay, so this is how it happened…" Kazuha started as she recalled today's events.

 _ **Flashback**_

Back at the coffee shop, earlier that day…

"Shinichi and I were exactly the same. He used to tease me, he'd always get on my nerves and we were always arguing about something silly, but we made up just as quickly. I guess it's because we've been friends since childhood, so we have a close bond that allows us to accept one another despite our faults. I used to think that Shinichi would never accept my feelings, but look where we are now." Ran explained.

"Maybe you're right," Kazuha murmured.

"Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Rachel stated.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Kazuha asked.

"What I mean is, I have a plan to get you and Hattori-kun together." Ran told her.

"But how do you know it will work?" Kazuha questioned.

"I know it will work because Hattori-kun is just like Shinichi. They both have huge egos with excessive amounts of male pride that prevent them from admitting their feelings, but not only that, just like Shinichi, Hattori-kun is scared." Ran said.

"Scared?" Kazuha repeated, confused.

"Yeah. He may not seem like the type, but deep down he's scared of rejection which is why he refuses to tell you how he feels. However, if we put him in a situation where he feels like he has no choice but to confess his true feelings, then you'll have your answer." Ran informed.

"What's the plan?" Kazuha inquired.

"Okay, but it's a bit cruel, so you can always say no if you want to." Ran offered. Kazuha nodded her head in understanding. "What we're going to do is, after you and I finish our coffees, we'll head over to Hattori-kun's house, which is where the boys are now, and you're going to confront him. You're going to say things like 'I know you love me' and 'Don't be such a coward' which will provoke him into denying his feelings due to the fact that his male pride is bound to interfere. Then, this will escalate into an argument that gets so bad that you end up leaving the house in tears, making him feel bad for hurting you. I will then come in and pretend to be angry at Hattori-kun before telling Shinichi that I'm going to go and look for you." Ran explained.

"Then what?" Kazuha queried.

"Next comes Shinichi's part. Shinichi will convince Hattori-kun to go and look for you in places he thinks you might be whilst he will pretend that he is helping Hattori-kun by saying that he will search everywhere else when in actual fact he is getting ready for the main part of the plan. Since you are always talking about how pretty the fountain is in Osaka Plaza, Shinichi knows that Hattori-kun will eventually end up there which is where he will be waiting for him." Ran continued. "Here comes the cruel part." Ran added, pre-warning Kazuha. "When Hattori-kun gets near to the plaza, Shinichi will purposely run into him, making him notice that he is all dressed in black and carrying a knife with a blood on it which will immediately make him think that a criminal has just attacked someone. However, before Hattori-kun can chase after him, I will let out a scream that alerts him that someone is in trouble, so instinctively he will run towards the source of the voice and that's where he will find us in one of the side streets by the plaza." Ran resumed.

"Alright, but why is that cruel?" Kazuha wondered.

"It's cruel because when Hattori-kun finds us, he'll see me crying over your lifeless body that is covered in all this fake blood I bought." Rachel answered as she opened up her bag and showed Kazuha one of the fake blood packets. "I'll make up some sort of story about a criminal which Hattori-kun will link to the guy that he saw in the plaza and then I'll explain how you got hurt. Shinichi will then come in and find that you have 'no pulse' which will bring Hattori-kun to his senses. He'll be too stubborn to accept it at first, but once he does, you'll find that he admits to a lot more than you thought he would and when he finally tells you that he loves you, then you can stop pretending." Ran finished.

"Oh, so that's why it's cruel," Kazuha murmured, taking in everything that Ran just said.

"So, do you want to go through with it?" Ran asked.

"It may be cold-hearted and calculating, but if it gives Heiji a wake-up call then I'll do it." Kazuha agreed.

"Okay, but remember, if Hattori-kun gets suspicious and tries to prove that you're faking, you must not react to anything he says or does otherwise the plan will fail." Ran told her.

"I'll try my best, but I'm not promising anything." Kazuha replied as Ran went over the details of the plan once more.

 _ **End Flashback**_

"There's still one more thing that I don't understand though." Heiji said.

"What's that?" Kazuha inquired.

"How come no-one else heard Ran scream or notice what was going on?" Heiji questioned.

"That's because when Shinichi ran into you, he discreetly placed a small speaker on your ear, that Doctor Agasa made for him, so only you would hear my screams. Actually, it's still there now." Ran informed, pointing to Heiji's left ear, as Heiji reached up and removed the speaker from the top of his ear. It was no bigger than the head of a screw and was made of a thin, light material, making sure that Heiji would not be able to feel it. "As for noticing what was going on, Kazuha-chan and I found this abandoned side street and tried to think of an excuse. Since I brought my video camera with me, we pretended that we were doing a film project for school and paid a few people to stand guard at both ends of the road so that no-one would interrupt in the middle of the plan." Ran explained. Heiji nodded his head, finally understanding what was going on.

"Still, you didn't have to use such a heartless plan." Heiji muttered as he wrapped his arms around Kazuha's waist and pouted.

"True, but who knows how much longer I would have had to wait before you confessed." Kazuha commented as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the nose.

"Well, I probably would have done it today seeing as Kudo and I were having that exact conversation before you interrupt-" Heiji responded, but stopped when something clicked in his mind. "You said those things on purpose, didn't you?" Heiji concluded as he looked at Shinichi.

"Yeah, I did, but they are very important life lessons as well." Shinichi replied. Heiji shook his head and sighed as he turned back towards Kazuha. He brushed her hair behind her ear and let his hand linger as it cupped her left cheek.

"I love you, Toyama." Heiji admitted with a small smile on his face.

"I love you too, Hattori." Kazuha confessed as she gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. She squealed as she pulled back and gave Heiji a tight hug to which he gladly reciprocated.

"I hope you know that, after all the pain you put me through, you owe me one and I will be ensuring that that debt is repaid, later tonight," Heiji whispered, huskily, into her ear, sending shivers down Kazuha's spine. "So, shall we go eat?" Heiji suggested, pulling away.

"Oh yeah, I'm starving!" Shinichi cried, as he placed his hands on his stomach, making everyone laugh. Heiji wrapped his left arm around Kazuha's shoulder as Shinichi wrapped his right arm around Ran's and the two couples walked off, side by side, with the two guys at the ends and the two girls in the middle.

"You know, I still can't get my head around the fact that Ran-chan came up with such an evil plan. I mean, what was going through your head?" Heiji asked. Ran was about to answer when Kazuha suddenly interjected.

"Actually, it wasn't Ran-chan's idea, it was Kudo-kun's." Kazuha informed, as both couples came to a halt, causing Ran to face palm and Shinichi's eyes to widen, immensely. Heiji gave Kazuha an 'are you serious' look and started chuckling, unbelievingly, through half-lidded eyes, as he turned around to face his so called 'friend'.

"Was it really?" Heiji muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Ran, there's a good chance that I may not make it back alive, so I just want to take this opportunity to say that I love you," Shinichi told her, hurriedly, as he gave her a quick kiss before dashing off.

"KUDO, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Heiji bellowed as raced after him.

'Why does this keep happening to me?' Shinichi thought as he ran for his life, in order to escape Heiji's wrath, while the girls stayed back, giggling at their boyfriends.

* * *

 _ **Hope you guys enjoyed it! This took me quite a while to write and I thought that it wouldn't be as long as my last one, but it was actually quite close. Please R &R!**_

 _ **xBandanaRosesx**_


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